National Recovery Plan for the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), enacted to address the need for comprehensive environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in Australia, was introduced to ensure the safeguarding of the nation's threatened species and ecological communities. This Act empowers the Minister for the Environment to create recovery plans for listed threatened species or ecological communities, binding the Commonwealth and its agencies. In line with this mandate, the Act's policy objective is to provide for the protection, conservation, and management of these vulnerable entities. This specific legislative instrument, the National Recovery Plan for the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community, was introduced to set out necessary research and management actions to halt the decline and support the recovery of these particular ecological communities. The enactment of this recovery plan was authorised by section 269A(2) of the EPBC Act, ensuring the plan's alignment with the overarching policy objectives of the Act.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) is the primary legislation governing environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in Australia, and it applies to all persons, entities, industries, and transactions that may impact on the environment and biodiversity, including threatened species and ecological communities. Specifically, the National Recovery Plan for the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community is applicable to actions and activities that may affect this ecological community, which is listed as a threatened ecological community under the EPBC Act. The plan outlines the necessary research and management actions to halt the decline of this ecological community and support its recovery. The plan applies nationally and is binding on the Commonwealth and Commonwealth agencies. The EPBC Act and its subordinate instruments may extend or restrict the application of the recovery plan, and there are no stated exclusions or exemptions. The Minister for the Environment has the authority to make the recovery plan under section 269A(2) of the EPBC Act, and the plan is subject to the requirements of sections 270, 274, 275 and 276 of the EPBC Act.

Key Provisions

The primary sections of the legislation referenced in the explanatory statement pertain to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Section 269A(2) empowers the Minister to create a written recovery plan for the protection, conservation, and management of a listed threatened species or ecological community. This particular legislation is concerned with the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community. It stipulates the necessary research and management actions to halt the decline and support the recovery of this ecological community, in accordance with section 270 of the EPBC Act and regulation 7.11 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 (Cth). The Act imposes several obligations on the parties and entities it governs. Firstly, the Minister is required to seek and consider advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee regarding the content of the recovery plan, as per section 274 of the EPBC Act. Additionally, section 275 mandates that the draft recovery plan be made available for public comment, with a notice being published in the Commonwealth of Australia Government Notices Gazette, The Australian newspaper, and the website of the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy. The consultation period for this recovery plan was from 23 February 2017 to 26 May 2017. Section 276 requires that all comments received during this period be considered before the final recovery plan is made. There are no explicit references to offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches of the Act in the explanatory statement provided. However, given the nature of the EPBC Act, non-compliance with the provisions of the recovery plan or the Act itself could potentially result in legal repercussions. The EPBC Act includes various sections that impose penalties for actions that are detrimental to the environment or biodiversity, including fines and imprisonment. For instance, section 474 imposes a maximum penalty of $300,000 or imprisonment for one year, or both, for offences related to the protection of threatened species and ecological communities. The exact penalties for breaches would depend on the specific provisions of the Act and the circumstances of the breach.